Egypt Day 17 (Do You Wanna Revolution?)

Our morning was spent visiting a few churches in the area. The coptic churches are located in the area where it is believed the Holy family brought Jesus after He was born. One church is built over a grotto which may be the exact place they stayed.After, we went to the Egyptian Museum. Unfortunately, no photos could be taken inside. The ancient sarcophaguses and artifacts were beautiful though. The highlight was the room containing the treasures of King Tut’s Tomb, which take up most of the second floor of the museum. In addition to gold plated chariots, thrones and statues, there is a room containing all the jewelry belonging to King Tut, all 18 carat solid gold. Also inside this room is King Tut’s mask, a solid gold piece that is mesmerizing to look at. I’ve always seen pictures of it, but in person, seeing how good it looks after thousands of years definitely hits you.The only other “site” we went to today was the Cairo square downtown. Certainly not an ancient site, this square is where the revolution happened just a few months ago. To try and picture over two million Egyptians, all chanting together “Step Down!” in unison in this square was overwhelming. The more I learn about this revolution the more interested I become.Apparently, the revolution was led by mostly 20-30 year old, well educated people. The entire country was behind this, including the Egyptian army. Most of the regime is now in jail, so in one sense the revolution succeeded. The problem is, there was never a leader for this uprising, and now everyone believes they deserve a chance to be President. Most of the men and women who powered the revolution have also disappeared, leaving no one to step up and steer the country.Our guide also shared some interesting facts, like him and many other Egyptian guides stood in front of the museum to protect it from any rioters. The crowd was also mixed Christian and Muslim, and both had extreme respect for each other. When the daily prayers for the Muslims came, they would migrate to the center, and all the Christians would surround them for protection. On the Christian day of worship, the Muslims did the same for them. All two million people also only had one bathroom in a local mosque to use. Lastly, the tear gas shot into the crowd quickly lost its affect because the Egyptians found a way to remedy its affects. Wash your eyes with Diet Pepsi; not Coke, Diet Coke or regular Pepsi, Diet Pepsi remedied the affects of tear gas.This country has many ancient and modern wonders within it’s borders. But, I’m very much looking forward to coming home. One day more.Photo Link: http://gallery.me.com/ssrobles/100504